The instant invention relates to archery bows and more particularly to an adjustable three-point arrow rest for a compound archery bow.
Compound archery bows for use in hunting and target shooting have heretofore been known in the art. A compound archery bow normally comprises a handle portion, two arms which extend outwardly from the handle portion, two cam wheels respectively positioned at the outer ends of the arms, and a bow string which is tensioned between the cam wheels. The handle of the bow normally includes an arrow shelf upon which the shaft of the arrow is rested when drawing and releasing the arrow. In this regard, several problems have long been associated with conventional arrow rests. For example, when the arrow rest is simply formed as a shelf on the handle portion, there is no means for holding the arrow on the shelf. Accordingly, an arrow cannot be maintained on the rest while moving about, since it would easily fall off the shelf. Therefore, a hunter must select and load an arrow each time it is desired to shoot. Also, if the arrow is not drawn or released smoothly, the arrow can fall off the shelf prior to or during release. Still further, an arrow running across a shelf tends to encounter friction with the shelf, and with the handle of the bow, thereby decreasing accuracy and distance. More specifically, the arrow shaft runs along the shelf during release, thereby slowing down the velocity, and the outwardly extending fletching tends to brush the handle portion thereby imparting lateral forces to the arrow shaft and moving the arrow off of its intended flight path. A plurality of heretofore known arrow rests have attempted to resolve these problems. In this connection, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,042,450, to Jacobson; 5,025,773, to Hintze; and 3,890,951 to Jennings, represent the closest prior art to the invention of which the applicant is aware.
The patent to Jacobson discloses an arrow rest comprising an arrow support and a spring-biased plunger assembly. The arrow support and plunger cooperate to form a two point rest upon which the arrow rests. The arrow rest may further include an arrow guide which engages a top side of the arrow in order to securely hold the arrow within the arrow rest. While it can be seen that the plunger point is spring-biased, the upper and lower rest points are not. The Patent to Hintze et al discloses an arrow support comprising a mounting member and a yoke which is pivotably mounted to the mounting member. The yoke defines an opening having a pair of pedestals which extend radially upwardly into the opening for supporting an arrow thereon. A resilient retaining member extends radially downward into the opening to limit lateral movement of the arrow during draw and release. It is pointed out that only the upper guide point is spring-biased and that the two support pedestals are rigid. The Patent to Jennings, et al discloses an arrow support comprising an annular frame member having three resilient finger members which extend radially inward from the annular frame. The arrow is inserted through the annular frame and is supported by the resilient fingers. While all three finger provide resilient support, and the fingers are circumferentially adjustable, the upward and downward launching positions of the fingers are not adjustable.